A Fantasy Tale I
by Kanojo wa Rinko
Summary: The Official Rewrite of A Fantasy Tale. Found by a young girl, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea of his origins. When he gets targeted, he sets out to search for his memories and prevent his friends from getting hurt. Will he be able to find them? AU & OCs!
1. Prelude and Ch1: A Sibling Confrontation

A Fantasy Tale I Chapter 1

**This is the rewritten version of A Fantasy Tale and I hope to finish this properly.**

**Written by: Hajimeru Rinko  
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure  
Rated: T (So as to embark on a darker genre, unfortunately)  
Summary: Found by a young girl, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea of his origins. When he gets targeted, he sets out to search his memories and prevent his friends from getting hurt. Will he be able to find them?  
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and all rights goes to the respective owners!  


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**

\\ *Prelude* /

"Washing clothes is a bore, right, Maria?" A maid said as she walked with a fellow maid in the corridor.

"I know, but at least we get to work and do nothing." The other replied, smiling at the clothes. "Well, I'm worried about the prince."

"Why? I heard he was summoned to the Ninth yesterday." The other mentioned.

"I know. After that, he was still shocked and perhaps too young to face it." Maria replied.

As they approach a nearby bedroom, they saw the door was partially open. Curious, the two looked in.

"Prince?" Maria said, seeing the windows open, and the curtains blowing violently.

The bed sheets were messed up, and no one was sleeping in the bed. Maria stepped in, asking for the prince, but as she switched on the lights, there were signs of the place ransacked and no sign of the prince. Both maids dropped their baskets, and immediately screamed for help.

* * *

\\ *Chapter 1: A Sibling Confrontation* /

"Rinko-chan, thank you for delivering the food as usual." A nurse kindly asked a young girl, who smiled, showing the nurse two heavy baskets.

"No problem, it's just a job I have to do for my mother as well." She replied as the nurser opened the door.

She had brown hair which was tied into long ponytails at each side of her head. Entering the orphanage, she scanned her surroundings, smiling. The orphanage was a rather normal house built with wood. It housed about fifty young orphans aged 4-12 from noble families and served as a day care centre for the nearby town.

Built only a month ago, they have no cook, so they were relying on buying food from a nearby bakery, farm and cafeteria for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively. It's also near the water transport system, which stretches throughout the whole empire. In fact, it's in the backyard of the orphanage. To prevent the orphans from falling into the water, there was a high fence to deter orphans from climbing it.

Every day, there would be new orphans or orphans being adopted by a noble. Today was another day where Rinko would deliver food from her farm to give the children lunch.

"How are they?" Rinko asked.

"The children? They are perfectly fine. They are even anticipating your free food and arrival." The nurse joked, and both laughed.

Opening the door to the playroom, one would see many orphans, happily occupied with their toys or playing hide and seek. It was a joyful scene, one that could only encounter with childhood. Hearing the door open, the orphans turned away from their toys and stopped what they were doing. They saw Rinko with their head nurse. Smiling, the orphans ran to her.

"Rinko-nee-chan! What's today's menu?" All of them yelled in unison.

Rinko held up the basket of food and put it on the floor. She then removed the cover and all of them stared inside. The sweet aroma of the food immediately came and swept over the whole room.

"Mushroom soup for everybody!" Rinko proudly announced and everyone clapped.

The other nurses started bringing in bowls and utensils for the children to eat, while Rinko heads to the backyard of the orphanage, enjoying the bright scenery. The backyard is occupied by the older orphans who had no interest in playing with toys, and prefer outdoor activities. Seeing Rinko there meant lunch is coming. A girl approached Rinko with her male friend.

"Hello Rinko"

"Ah, Miles-nii-san." Rinko greeted him and his friend.

"Hey, what's today's lunch?" The girl asked, with a bright mood.

"Mushroom soup." Rinko answered her.

"I see. Who made the food you always bring here? They're so delicious." She asked again.

"My mom and I will prepare the food." Rinko replied with a smile.

"I see."

"Hey, everyone, come in, it's time for lunch!" A nun shouted.

All the orphans on the backyard started to get up from their comfort spots and head into the orphanage. After entering the orphanage, Rinko looked around and there was no one left, so it's deserted. Normally they would have been allowed to eat outside but as some irresponsible orphans enjoyed leaving their bowls behind and spill on the grass, the nurses forbade them to eat in the backyard.

Of course, in special occasions they would eat in the backyard. Rinko walked to the fence that separated the orphanage from the transport system. There were many boats, carrying things to sell, or the sake of travel. As the fence was hard to climb, she stared at the wonderful view that was cut up into equal shapes of rhombuses due to the fence.

'_The orphans have it good. Having no parents and yet they could be so happy. If only I could be as strong as them…_' Rinko thought, having been reminded of the loss of her father. '_I really want to know where they got the strength to bear with the loss of their family and being only protected by nuns._' Rinko tried to compare their feelings, finding them similar.

"Maybe nobles are the same as us peasants do…" Rinko stammered as she stared at the sky.

* * *

**Transition**

"Thank you." Rinko got the baskets back, which were way lighter than before.

"Please come back again!" The children waved at her.

"Of course I would!" Rinko exclaimed, smiling at them.

Finally leaving the rather small orphanage, she waved the baskets back and forth as they were lighter. Rinko sees that it's a sunset and she would have to hurry home. As she reached the bridge, she took a glance to the sunset. Funny that she didn't notice how time flies. Reaching the bridge, she put down her baskets to view the sunset in the amazing beauty.

Rinko then looked over the river, and was stunned to find a boy floating on a plank, unconscious. Seeing him, she put down her baskets and headed to the river side to get the boy out of the water. His clothes were drenched and he was unconscious. Rinko then checked his pulse. He was alive. That's a relief. But who is he? She better get him to safety. On the way, she sees her best friend Sakaishi.

"Hi Rinko. Who is that are you holding?" He asked, as he was carrying some logs from woodcutting.

"I don't know! I just found him floating in the water. Help me bring him home first." Rinko said, pulling the boy out of the water.

She stared at the unconscious boy. Some of his clothing was torn and Rinko took off the jacket he was wearing as he would get a cold.

"O-okay, easy, let's slowly carry him…" Sakaishi put down the logs he was carrying and made a makeshift stretcher with the logs he had cut.

* * *

"I can't believe you brought a burden home." Rinko's mother moaned as she slowly stirred the vegetable soup she was cooking.

"Mom, I wanted to help him…" Rinko said as she pulled the chair out and sat.

"Say no more!" Rinko's mother yelled and Rinko stayed silent in her seat.

In another room, Sakaishi was busy bandaging the boy's injuries and dressed him up as a normal peasant. Placing the wet clothes aside, he positioned the boy sitting up and facing him. Sakaishi then heaved a sigh of relief and wiped off beads of perspiration off his face.

"I never knew dressing up someone else could be _this_ annoying. Oh well, at least he's not awake." He said, reminded of the terrible time he had to dress up a baby Toby who kept moving around, making it tough work.

The boy slowly opened his eyes and saw a tall boy who had brown hair and was wearing a blue shirt with a vest and long white pants. Seeing that he woke up, Sakaishi turned to kneel to the boy's eye level.

"Hello there, kiddo. My name is Sakaishi Hiromoto but call me Sakashi." He introduced himself, holding onto the boy's shoulders.

"Sa…kai…shi?" The boy stammered.

"Yeah. Sa-kai-shi. Now tell me your name." He responded kindly.

The boy hesitated, and looked nervous. Sakaishi sees that the boy feels very uncomfortable, but he tries to pry for the boy's information again.

"Are you scared?" He asked the boy, who nodded in response.

Sakaishi stood up, and scratched his head. He got to go tell Rinko to console the boy, who probably suffered some trauma.

"Can you wait here for a little while, please? Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back." Sakaishi told him, and the boy nodded.

Sakaishi opened the door, seeing Rinko on the chair and her mother putting bowls on the table. Rinko looked up and stood up.

"How is he?" Rinko asked worriedly.

"Well, I did the things you asked, and to tell you the truth, he doesn't seem to know his name at all." Sakaishi summed up.

"A slave?"

"No. While I was dressing him up, there was no slave brand or tattoo on him anywhere. He seems traumatised, though." Sakaishi commented.

"Stop your talking and eat your dinner. If not I'll be eating everything up." Rinko's mother said, tying a handkerchief around her neck/

"YOU STILL WANT TO GET FATTER!" Rinko and Sakaishi yelled at Rinko's mother, who was…admittedly, presumably fat.

"While you are at it, you should feed that burden you brought back home." Rinko's mother blatantly said as she poured the soup evenly into four bowls.

Upon hearing the word "burden" (since the door is open), the boy begin to feel more frightened, as if someone labelled him as a burden to somebody, which he could barely remember. A loud thud was heard, and Rinko saw that the boy fell to the ground, shivering in fear.

"Mom, look what you did!" She ran over to the boy to comfort him. "Did you have to frighten him?"

"I didn't frighten him. You just had to let the door open." Rinko's mother was arms akimbo.

Deciding not to bother with her mother, she turned to the boy who was shivering.

"Don't be scared. We won't harm you." Rinko consoled him, and the boy calmed down. "Are you hungry? Come, let's eat." Rinko invited him onto the table.

After receiving a warm welcome from Rinko, the boy seemed to have calmed down and was happily eating the food.

"Thank you for the meal." He said after finishing the food.

Rinko patted him on the head, smiling at him.

"What's your name?" Rinko kindly asked.

"I'm afraid that I can't remember anything." The boy admitted, looking down on his lap with a solemn face.

"No wonder you hesitated to tell me your name." Sakaishi scratched his head.

"Then, let's give you a name." Rinko suggested, and looked around.

Seeing that the boy ate the tuna happily, she clapped her hands, having thought up of a name.

"How about Tsunayoshi? Since you liked the tuna so much, we'll call you Tsuna then." Rinko clapped once, happy at the idea.

"That's fine by me!" The boy happily exclaimed.

Rinko turned to Sakaishi, who just shrugged his arms.

"Then it's decided! We'll call you Tsuna!" Rinko decided.

* * *

**Four years later**

Fourteen year old Rinko was busy cooking as her mother is literally lazy to the point where she refuses to move an inch. She is only a few hours away from being late to school, a faraway place near the capital of the Vongola Empire, Edoken. She has to prepare meals for the ten year old Sawada Tsunayoshi as her mother is not in any condition to even move an _inch_ to do anything.

Rinko hopes she could make it on time, even though her magic is not capable enough to teleport herself to school. Not only that, she is worried leaving Tsuna with her weird mother behind, and the fact that Tsuna has to take care of the fields was not a good idea at all. Sakaishi opens the door, seeing the all ever busy Rinko.

"Yo, are you busy now Rinko? I can finish up your cooking." Sakaishi entered, greeting Rinko.

By now, she finished cooking and poured the food onto a plate and busy cleaning up. "I'm already done." She said, ignoring Sakaishi's words.

"Oi oi, I can clean it up. Just go to school." Sakaishi tried to convince her to go to school early.

"I can't trust you and that habit of not cleaning up at all! Even though you can babysit my little brother doesn't mean you are capable of housework." Rinko scrubbed hard on the basin and the table as well.

Sakaishi had no more words to say, so he basically shrugged and pointed at the door. By the next hour, Rinko finished her cleaning, packed her bag, and prepared to set off for school. Sakaishi, waited for Rinko to leave. Before heading out the door, she stood there for a while.

"Sakaishi. Take care of Tsuna for me, okay? I heard there are attacks on brunettes lately, so please be careful."

"Of course I will! Get to school or else you'll be late!" Sakaishi said, waving at Rinko, who started to rush to school.

For it will be another week without her.

End of Chapter 1

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**Time for character profiles and information!**

**Character profiles:**

**Sawada Tsunayoshi**

**Age: 10, 6(Chapter 1)**

**Likes: Tuna, mushroom soup, vegetable soup, any kind of plain food, Rinko, Sakaishi, everything considered 'peasant', reading books**

**Dislikes: Foster mom, plowing the farm, anything too fancy for his liking.**

**Personality: Average, innocent kid with brown hair and eyes. He looks extremely normal and enjoys being normal. He is very kind, but dared not to go near water until Sakaishi took him fishing. He has an unknown past, but it seems he was educated. Tsuna often is shy but hopes to go on an adventure one day. He is quite close to Sakaishi as well. He also likes reading.**

**Sawada Rinko**

**Age: 14, 10(Chapter 1)**

**Likes: Mushroom soup, Salmon, cake, rabbit meat, anything cute, Tsuna, Sakaishi and late father.**

**Dislikes: Irresponsible mom, the fantasies of others wanting magic, selfish people, evil people, and manipulating people.**

**Personality: Extremely kind and acts the 'mother' to Tsuna. Born with brown hair and slight pink eyes, she grows up to be too mature for her age because of her irresponsible mom and father's death, and one of the few who disliked being gifted. They rather give. Rinko's magical power is raw and rare, the reason for sending her to a **_**prestigious**_** magic school. Will definitely be edited NOT to be Mary Sue material!**

**Sakaishi Hiromoto**

**Age: 15, 11(Chapter 1)**

**Likes: Rinko, potatoes, vegetables, steak, fishing, logging, taking care of sick father.**

**Dislikes: Rinko's mother, unfriendly nobles, war, the military**

**Personality: Proud boy who loves the sea; he is black haired and have black eyes. Raised only by his father, he had the attitude of being a 'man', and think all boys should be one, a role model for all young boys. He enjoys fishing and is a best friend of Sawada Rinko. When Rinko is away from home, he takes the role of the caretaker of Tsuna. Therefore, this is the reason why he has a brotherly bond with Tsuna.**

**Rinko's mother**

**Age: 36, 32(Chapter 1)**

**Likes: Eating**

**Dislikes: Working.**

**Personality: A harsh mother she may be, she has a kind underside. She deliberately pushes Rinko and Tsuna to mature fast. Maybe her methods are too harsh however. She is a tough woman; no matter what insult is thrown at her, she just deflects it back. She does not mind getting fat or her weight at all. She makes an effort to tell them that looks does not matter, even though it is rather ironic.**

**Notable places of mention:**

**Edoken – Second highly ranked city, built to house schools. This is where Rinko's school, The Prestigious Academy for the Magicians, is located. The school is extremely rich and known for raising the best of best mages.**

**Comments: Yo! I'm finally back! Chapter 1 looks too choppy...oh well. Technically I had just rebooted A Fantasy Tale, hope you like it. As I had noticed that I am basically focusing on too much comedy, I'll try to make it darker. Hope you like some of the changes or not. Read and Review pretty pwease!  
**

**~Hajimeru Rinko  
**


	2. The Assassination Attempt

**Written by: Hajimeru Rinko  
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure  
Rated: T  
Summary: Found by a young girl, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea of his origins. When he gets targeted, he sets out to search for his memories and prevent his friends from getting hurt. Will he able to find them?  
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and all rights goes to their respective owners.**

**

* * *

**A Fantasy Tale I Chapter 2

\ *Chapter 2: The Assassination Attempt* /

As Rinko left, Sakaishi returned to the house, grabbing a bowl of the soup she had cooked and started eating. Suddenly he heard someone coming down the stairs. The ten year old Tsuna was standing there, yawning.

"Did Rinko-nee-chan just leave?" Tsuna asked, and Sakaishi nodded.

"Come and eat your breakfast before you get to school." Sakaishi said, and Tsuna immediately started eating.

"Hurry, it'd do no good to be late for school." Sakaishi hushed, reminding Tsuna he had school.

"Alright, I will." Tsuna obediently answered.

During the past four years, Rinko had worked hard in order to earn income for them and give Tsuna an education. Even though Tsuna had not needed it because he already seemed to have been educated in his past, proven when Rinko bought him an Italian book and he read it easily. Still, he goes to school and make friends. Rinko, on the other hand, discovered having a latent aptitude for magic, given a large bonus and sent to a _prestigious_ magic school due to her talent. Unfortunately, this made her schedule tighter and Sakaishi is brought in to babysit Tsuna.

However, despite Sakaishi did not want to babysit Tsuna, he knew the possibilities happening if Tsuna was left behind with that estranged fat mother. Sakaishi hoped he could teach Tsuna to be independent, be more like a "man" since Rinko is literally spoiling him…in his point of view. Waiting for the little boy to get dressed, Sakaishi looked out the window. '_It's the beautiful autumn…The Maple Trees are doing great, aren't they?_' Sakashi thought, looking outside. Unbeknownst to Sakaishi, hiding in the trees was a ninja. The Ninja fortified his disguise in the trees, and Sakaishi never noticed.

He closed the window, and sees Tsuna standing in the doorway, dressed in uniform. Going to an average school is a privilege for a peasant like him, with other not so famous nobles. As they went down the stairs, the mother just woke up, yawning. Sakaishi hurried Tsuna to the door upon seeing the mother preparing to feast on the remaining soup Rinko had left. Immediately, she jumped over to the kitchen and started eating. '_Grr…this woman makes me sick. My wallet is going to have a hole in it since I'll have to buy food for me and this kid._' Sakaishi thought, being disgusted by the mother's amazing appetite.

"Come, let's go." Sakashi said, opening the door.

"Okay."

They then headed in the direction of the town. In the trees, the ninja watched them, and started to stalk them.

"Today is a beautiful day in Cadre De Arden! Enjoy the beautiful autumn as the Maple leaves are all around the whole beautiful Cadre De Arden!" A person shouted, using a loudspeaker powered by magic, as Tsuna and Sakaishi walked through the bustling marketplace.

Cadre De Arden (pronounced Sadi De Ard-den) is a town surrounded by the beautiful green scenery found most of the time in spring season. The Ligeria Falls are also located here, making the final scenery excellent. In the autumn, the whole area is red and orange, decorated by Maple Leaves. Because of this, it is a tourist attraction and many people visit this place for the Spring Festival. There are a few facilities despite earning a lot of money from being a tourist attraction, mainly because they did not want to damage the viewing of the scenery and want to keep things natural. '_Keep things natural? That's a lie. The mayor is counting the money earned and keeping them in a safe. Corrupted mayor, what's more?_' Sakaishi thought as he held Tsuna's hand, strolling past the crowds.

"Sakaishi-nii-chan, we're here." Tsuna said, snapping Sakaishi of his random thinking.

"Oh. Have a good time at school." Sakaishi said, letting Tsuna go into the school campus.

'_Now to go do some stuff for my dad._' Sakaishi thought, heading back home. The ninja stopped at the tree facing the school, perched on the branch, deliberately waiting for his target; Tsuna.

* * *

"Many young boys with brown hair are being attacked as we speak." The secretary said, holding her report.

"This is quite bad…" The man said, trying to think.

'_This is really bad. Since the disappearance of the hidden prince, many organizations are desperately trying to find him and kill him, so as to cripple the Vongola Empire._' Sasagawa Heisei, head of the noble Sasagawa family, thought as he fiddled with his fingers.

The Sasagawa family is the head of the police force that keeps peace in the whole Empire, with some help of course. Few people know of this 'hidden' prince, because it was never announced to public. The only fact that this prince on had brown hair, made anti-empire organizations desperately search for him so as to get an advantage on the Royal Family. However, brown hair is very common, so it is hard to track down. The same exact reason for being a 'hidden' prince was because he was a peasant's child. Unknowingly to this man, eleven year old Ryohei opened the door, greeting his father.

"Dad! When are you going to bring me to the Boxing Arena Championship of the Vongola Tournament XXXIII?" Ryohei asked innocently.

"When it is that day, did I not tell you? I'm kind of busy right now." Heisei replied, feeling slightly stressed out.

"Oh. Sorry." Ryohei then left the room, closing the door.

'_Dad looks tired…I must find some way to help him!_' Ryohei thought, heading to look for a friend.

* * *

"Did you know? Brown-haired boys are getting attacked everyday!" A girl exclaimed as Tsuna came into the classroom.

"Yeah! It's so scary! Brunan from the Jangkoff family got attacked due to him having brown hair!" Another girl replied hastily.

"Hmm…maybe our dear Tsunayoshi-kun might get attacked…" The girl smirked, sending an arrow at Tsuna's back. "I wonder why a peasant is even here in the first place."

"According to the rules of the 304 guidelines regarding statuses, peasants can attend school if they are children of merchants or related to a magician talent, and if they can cough up the money to pay the school fees. In Tsunayoshi-kun's case, his sister is a prodigy who got sent to a prestigious magic school. So he has the right to attend this school, no matter how you complain." A boy who was nearby leaning on the wall, summed up immediately.

'_Ah, there goes Kaito. That smart ass seriously should be involved in politics in defending peasants._' Tsuna sarcastically thought in his mind, sitting down. Life at a school is normal for everyone. Except for Tsuna, who is considered abnormal as he is a peasant, and literally his classmates did not like him for he was not of nobility. However, that did not mean that he didn't have any friends since he made friends with his classmates, finding that being peasants and nobles does not change the fact that they are the one and the same. Tsuna even made friends with the most popular guys of the school; Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato.

Girls would often duke it out under Yamamoto's and Gokudera's name to fight to prove that their side had the best leader. Once Tsuna accidentally met Yamamoto, they immediately became great friends. Then somehow, Gokudera jumped on from behind him, as if he known him, and became friends with Tsuna. The girls' biggest enemy wasn't the other side; it is Tsuna now. Few days after being friends with the two, Tsuna sees a lot of knives around the corridor near his classroom and sees more chipmunks trying to eat his acorn art project more than ever before. He feels threatened, but did not mind it.

Friendship isn't meant to be broken just by some threatening letters or signs. As Tsuna walked out of the school, someone tried to catch up with him.

"Yo Tsuna!" A brown eyed boy with black hair, with a baseball bat sticking out of his bag, ran after Tsuna.

"Ah, Yamamoto-kun." Tsuna greeted as Yamamoto caught up to him.

"Drop the suffix, please. I'm not some rich guy." Yamamoto told him, pleading him.

"You are a noble, while I am a mere peasant. It is as simple as that." Tsuna blatantly said with a stoic tone, dividing their status in the Empire.

"Tsunayoshi-kun."

There, waiting right for Tsuna, was Gokudera Hayato. He had been waiting and treating Tsuna like some king, which Tsuna did not like and made the girls furious. Technically, Tsuna hated being treated to stuff that is too fancy for his liking. He seemed to have inherited this perfect humbleness from Rinko, the person who is known for hating selfish people.

"Gokudera-kun…can you please drop that servant stance? People are staring at us!" Tsuna whispered to Gokudera in a panic.

"I cannot! I shall serve you Tsunayoshi-sama!" Gokudera shouted loudly, bowing even more, and making the misunderstanding between Tsuna and the girls even worse.

"There he goes! That peasant *****" The girls clenched their fists, with fiery feeling flames enveloping them as they glared furiously at Tsuna.

'_I can feel the arrows pointing at my back… This is scary!_' Tsuna nervously thought, as he dared not to stare back at the girls furiously thinking about Gokudera being tortured. Yamamoto tapped Tsuna, snapping Tsuna out of nervousness.

"Tsuna, you should take a break from school. It is not good to overstress yourself!" Yamamoto giggled, reminding Tsuna how studious and overstressed he is, not knowing that the stress came from the fan girls.

'_I can't because my sister pays every cent to my school fees. It'd be bad._' Tsuna thought, obviously he cannot do what Gokudera can do every day; skipping school and comes to school whenever he likes it or not. He's too smart for school.

"W-well, I got to get going now, or else Sakaishi-nii-san will get worried." Tsuna said, separating from the two.

"Oi, Tsuna! Don't get attacked!" Yamamoto shouted, leaving for his carriage.

"Don't worry, I won't!" Tsuna replied, with Gokudera following him.

The ninja, perching on the tree facing the school, held up a bow with an arrow, and started to aim at Tsuna's head as he came into view. As most nobles leave in carriages or a bus, they would not normally walk out of the school, making this an easy job for the ninja.

"Gokudera-kun, can I ask you something?" Tsuna asked with a stoic look.

"What is it?" Gokudera said, with a calm smile.

"Why are you treating me like a king?" Tsuna demanded, trying not to offend Gokudera with his tone.

"Because…you remind me of this friend I used to have..." Gokudera admitted, reminded of the shut-in environment he was raised in. "I was always kept indoors, and have limited contact with people outside…"

'_Oops, now I kind of feel bad for him…_' Tsuna thought, thinking of how happily he was raised. '_Behind that stoic look he puts on in class and everywhere, is a person who wants to make friends…_' Well, because of the horrid status system, both are estranged from each other to even share feelings. Everyone is human; they have feelings too. He is definitely starting to empathise with nobles now.

"I met the hidden prince of the Royal Family." Gokudera blurted, immediately, he noticed what he said and tried to take it back.

"W-" Tsuna got his mouth covered by Gokudera, with Tsuna trying to recover from the shock.

'_Since when was there a hidden prince…_' Tsuna tried to calm down from the surprise, and soon enough, Gokudera released his hold, and started to walk off.

"Please forget those words. I might have gotten the wrong impression as I was very young at the time." Gokudera said, disappointed, heading away from Tsuna.

"Okay…" '_So a hidden prince doesn't exist after all._' Tsuna thought, starting to head home and separate Gokudera. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Gokudera quietly replied.

Sakaishi, who was waiting outside the gate, sees Tsuna coming into his view. As Tsuna approached Sakaishi, the ninja prepares to shoot. When the arrow was shot, Tsuna immediately took a step back, barely missing the arrow that was shot at him. This made Sakaishi grab Tsuna's hand and make a big run for it. The ninja jumped out of the trees and starting followed them. Fear came over the poor little boy for he had never seen someone targeting him and trying to _kill_ him before. Was it because of his brown hair? Why are they attacking brunettes for? Sakaishi immediately ran into the crowd, hoping to lose the ninja.

He had no experience of combat and hopes to stay safe. He promised Rinko he would keep Tsuna safe. '_Curses, if I had gone to train I wouldn't be in this situation…_' Sakaishi bit his lip as he meets the ninja at the end of the road. Immediately, Sakaishi started to mix with the crowd, seeing that the ninja cannot attack with many people around. Tsuna, in the confusion, grabbed tight of Sakaishi's hand, refusing to let go. Afraid to look behind, Tsuna looked to the front, and sees a familiar object – it's Yamamoto's carriage! As Sakaishi stops due to the moving carriage, Tsuna also followed. He let go of Saikaishi's hand and ran towards the carriage.

"Yamamoto! Are you there?" Tsuna yelled loudly, making the carriage stop.

The boy in the carriage looked out, seeing Tsuna.

"Yo Tsuna. What is it?" Yamamoto asked.

"Umm…I'm just asking how you are…" Tsuna is too frightened to speak of his predicament.

"Oi, Tsuna, we don't have time to talk to your friend! That ninja is after you!" Sakaishi grabbed Tsuna's hand and started to run in the carriage's direction.

Having heard what Sakaishi had just said, Yamamoto senses something is wrong. He was proven right when a ninja turned around at the corner, pursuing Tsuna and Sakaishi. Immediately, Yamamoto jumped out of the carriage, landing his baseball bat on the ninja's head, and swung it again to strike a second blow. The knocked out ninja was pushed against the carriage, and laid there.

"Takeshi-sama!" His butler came from the carriage, worried for Yamamoto.

Tsuna turns back to see Yamamoto had knocked out the ninja, and halted. Sakaishi turns back to see that the ninja had been stopped by Yamamoto, heaves a sigh of relief. He walked back to Yamamoto to thank him.

"It's nothing; I just want to help my friend." Yamamoto said with a smile. His expression then changed. "This is quite serious. Douji, we need to report this."

"Yes, Takeshi-sama."

"Why? This is like any other attack…" Sakaishi said, getting more nervous.

"It is an attempted assassination. You can tell that he is after your life." Yamamoto cut in, showing them the list the ninja had on him. "Because the crossed names on this list had been severely injured, or killed in the worst case scenario. If he continued, they would have surely killed you and other boys." Yamamoto added, with a serious expression.

Both boys were stunned, and Tsuna had never seen this side of Yamamoto before. '_I…never seen him like this. He really isn't some random friend you'd get._' Tsuna thought, seeing the circumstances. What they did not know…there will be more assassins coming after Tsuna.

End of Chapter 2

* * *

**Character profiles:**

**Yamamoto Takeshi**

**Age: 11**

**Likes: Sushi, salmon, tuna, vegetables, fruits and healthy meals. Close to father.**

**Dislikes: Friends being hurt, cruel people, insults of his sword style**

**Personality: Easy-going guy, friendly and kind. A best friend anyone would want. Skilled in the sword, but lazy to show off his skills anyway. Yamamoto can be really mean if his friends are injured. He believes his sword style, passed down for generations, is the most perfect sword style in the world.**

**Gokudera Hayato**

**Age: 11**

**Likes: Fried chicken, smart meals, apples, Antidotes, Mother, Friend from some time ago**

**Dislikes: Sister, Poison Cooking, anything purple.**

**Personality: Rash and hot headed, but calm sometimes, he is a smart boy who is very studious and practices the piano sometimes. He hates his sister for obviously using him as a test subject for her refined poison cooking and will faint immediately if he gets a look on her face. Due to the fact that poison cooking is purple, he also hates the colour purple.**

**Sasagawa Ryohei**

**Age: 11**

**Likes: Boxing, anything extreme**

**Dislikes: Boring stuff.**

**Personality: ?**

**Notable places of mention:**

**Cadre de Arden (pronounced Sadi de Arden) is a town located near the biggest attraction of the town, the Ligeria Falls and beautiful scenery. It is green most of the year, red in autumn, bare in the winter however. It is not really huge, but receives a lot of tourists. Few nobles live here, and send their children to school here so as to appreciate the nature. It is kept plain but upgrades only its own facilities to keep the natural look the way it is.**

**Ligeria Falls is a pun of the Niagara Falls. Cadre de Arden is a made up name I thought up of for a place as I imagined when Tsuna stared at a town in flames. The unnamed school Tsuna went to is called the Arden Noble School. It has a winter and summer uniform.**

**Comments: Until Ryohei meets Tsuna, then we will have the full profile. This chapter is pretty meh. And yes, Ryohei's father is named after some Heisei era in Japan, lols. So far so good. Editing the finished chapter whilst working on the next chapter is a rather good plan, I'll keep this schedule so as to find errors easily. (to a reviewer for the previous chapter.) xD This will also ensure that my planning do not go berserk and of course, let the wait for the next chapter longer. I will not release fast chapters since people will go yay for a short while and having to wait longer for the next chapter.**

**Someone is helping me greatly with the story, to prevent the over use of comedy every single sentence and give the story a little dark Adventure and Fantasy genre it deserves. 8D I know that Tsuna is 10, why are his friends 11, simple, I'll have to keep them within the range 10-12 (of course except for that _bloody_ Lambo )": )Please review if you have a comment on how to improve the story or just how MUCH you love it and would LOVE to support it! I need reviews for dinner for thinking up ideas for next chapters! Pretty Pwease?  
**

**~Hajimeru Rinko  
**


	3. Hidden In the Night

**Written by Hajimeru Rinko**  
**Genres: Fantasy, Adventure  
Rated: T (More curse words are to come, likely.)  
****Found by a young girl, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea of his origins. When he gets targeted, he sets out to search his memories and prevent his friends from getting hurt. Will he be able to find them?**  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and all rights goes to the respective owners!

* * *

**A Fantasy Tale I Chapter 3

\ *Chapter 3: Hidden in the Night* /

Rinko barged into her own house, seeing Sakaishi and Tsuna safe. Sakaishi was helping Tsuna with his homework, as usual. After hearing that her little brother was targeted by ninjas, or assassins, whatever they call it, Rinko rushed back home straight after school had dismissed their students. She was panting heavily, having run a long way from Edoken to Cadre De Arden.

"Oh…Rinko. We're completely fine." Sakaishi tried to keep Rinko from going 'overprotective' mode.

Rinko rushed over to Tsuna and checked him for injuries. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Rinko-nee-chan." Tsuna said happily, assuring her.

Rinko then heaved a sigh of relief. Tsuna then rolled his eyes, thinking, '_Obviously I'm getting tired of this. From a scratch, to a knee injury, to sickness, when shall it all end? Sakaishi-nii-san is right. She better stop spoiling me._' He is starting to disagree with Rinko for the very first time.

"You should have gone for the free lessons! Teach yourself some self defense, seriously!" Rinko suddenly exploded, nagging Sakaishi.

"Shut up, I know when it is the time for a 'man' to 'man' up!" Sakaishi snapped.

"You and your 'man' things! Fine! If you don't go learn some skills, you're a boy! Not a man!" Rinko bellowed loudly.

'_Ahh. I can't be bothered. Sooner or later they will get lovey dovey and it is not my fault, even though they were fighting over me._' Tsuna thought, heading upstairs as the two bicker at each other. As he went upstairs, he felt his head was a little dizzy. It is almost as if, he had this memory he did not recall happening in the past four years. '_Wait…fighting?_' Tsuna stopped, instantly recalling a memory where he, as a five year old, was jumping back during a fight, avoiding someone's blue flame. He was also panting a little, same as his opponent.

Immediately, he shook his head, confused all of a sudden. '_What was that…Am I dreaming? Who was that person I fought?_' Tsuna thought, perspiring. When upstairs, he noticed something, and went towards the window. '_Well…looks like someone came. It's been some time since those fighting classes. Maybe I'll get a clue when I try out fighting…_' Tsuna concluded, climbing out of the window. He got onto the rooftop, and sees how dark it is everywhere. Tsuna slowly stood up and balanced himself.

"What a brave young boy." Tsuna turned at upon hearing a voice.

"Any reason you'd want to kill a poor, pitiful peasant?" Tsuna asked, being extremely calm, unlike in the day where he was panicking earlier.

* * *

"Kiba-sama…we have acquired the list of the brunettes we have left to attack." The secretary said, holding a list to an unknown man sitting in a throne. "Also, we've gotten information that he may hold information on the Arcobaleno."

He stood up without saying a word, and all his minions bowed down to him.

"Whoever succeeds in bringing his head, dead or alive, will be rewarded." Kiba, the leader, announced, making the minions get a rush for their jobs.

'_I…will be the lord of the Pandemonium._' Kiba thought with an evil idea forming in his mind.

* * *

"Wow, this is kind of fun!" Tsuna exclaimed as he avoided the swift attacks of the ninja, flipping forward and doing backflips easily.

'_What's with this kid? He's different from the others!_' The ninja was in shock, but continued attacking.

"Of course I'm different, old man, you need to retire." Tsuna commented cheerfully, revealing that he had read his mind.

Stunned, but did not want to lose focus, the ninja shot a few shurikens at Tsuna, who avoided them with grace. The ninja was surprised earlier on when Tsuna is smiling as he was supposed to be frightened like any ten year old would. Just like…all those previous lives he had attacked, cut short, and abused. Some poor brunettes are never able to walk again, speak, hear, or even see. They've had their lives ruined.

Back to the present, the ninja focused on killing this boy, because he is a pain in the neck. He's starting to feel the fatigue building up on his body, and wanted to finish this very fast so he can rest and aim for the next boy quick. '_I'm feeling really different, being calm and cautious. It's as if my body was moving on its own…why?_' Tsuna thought as he moved instinctively.

"Hey, do you know?" Tsuna said as he spun around to hide behind a tree bank, the ninja stopped, perching on the tree facing it. "I'm like a ninja."

"How are you, a little boy, going to be a ninja?" The ninja asked curiously, pointing his dagger at the tree where Tsuna was hiding behind.

"Well, I did not say I'm becoming one. I said I am like one." Tsuna smirked.

"Get to the point or else I'll not let you have any last words." He hastened Tsuna, preparing to kill him, not in the mood to play games.

"I'm actually more active in the night because I can do whatever I want in the darkness. That doesn't mean I'm weak in the day though." Tsuna admitted, smiling slightly as the ninja twitched his eyes for a moment.

'_This is strange…I'm feeling kind of different at night then in the day…_' Tsuna thought, feeling really different. Grabbing this chance as the ninja was distracted; Tsuna started kicking branches violently at him. The ninja barely evaded the branch, which had cut onto the ninja's nose bridge. It is bleeding, shocking the ninja. Tsuna was smiling at the ninja, who was surprised.

"You know, life is short, old man." Tsuna commented, making the ninja lower his guard as he got onto a branch on the same level as the ninja's. "That doesn't give you the right to go around and cutting off people's lives!" Tsuna suddenly snapped, deliberately lunging at the ninja, who was surprised, and Tsuna gave a swift kick to him.

After knocking the ninja out, Tsuna looked at the full moon tonight. '_Well…better start going back and get a rope to tie up this guy._' Tsuna immediately started to head home.

Tsuna slowly climbed the tree right beside the house and went into the house via the window. He noticed that the lamps are still on, but there was no one in the house. Meanwhile, Rinko and Sakaishi were walking around in the forest, searching for Tsuna.

"Oi! Tsuna! Where are you?" Rinko shouted, as the bored Sakaishi walked around with his lamp.

"Tsuna! Get out, we need to go home. We don't have time to play hide and seek here!" Sakaishi yelled, in the nothingness of the forest.

Their voices had echoed, but no one was there to hear it. The forest is rather quiet and very few animals are even here in the first place.

"Geez…where did he go?" Rinko moaned, getting tired.

"I bet he got tired of your over protectiveness and ran away." Sakaishi speculated as he searched the forest with her.

"Hey! Take that back!" Rinko snapped, running over to Sakaishi.

"I won't, over protective girl. You're too overprotective for his good." Sakaishi pointed, because the past four years she was spoiling him.

"Fine! If you think so, we'll separate!" Rinko yelled at him, stomping off. "Don't blame me when you get into trouble! I won't save you!"

'_Immature brat._' Sakaishi thought immediately, and continued searching. The ninja slowly woke up, scratching the part where he had been severely knocked out. If he was a weak ninja, he'd be knocked out for 24 hours. Standing up, he noticed there was some light nearby. It was Sakaishi, innocently looking for Tsuna. Gambling on the chance that this person knows the brunette earlier who had just knocked him out, he grabs Sakaishi from behind and clamped his mouth until Sakaishi passed out. The ninja immediately jumped into the tree, hearing a pair of voices.

"So…why are you following me to find Tsuna?" Gokudera snared at Yamamoto, as they were holding flame powered lanterns.

The boys had snuck out of their homes to find Tsuna, as they were really worried for him.

"Well I'm kind of worried for him…" Yamamoto admitted, scratching his head while he smiled.

"Geez! If only I didn't separate from him…" Gokudera stammered softly, being in a dilemma.

"No one expected it to happen." Yamamoto tried to comfort Gokudera.

"Shut up! I don't need your pity!" Gokudera snapped at Yamamoto, who sweat dropped.

'_Even though Gokudera is smart, he needs to work on his temper._' Yamamoto thought, looking at Gokudera's biggest flaws. Suddenly they noticed that someone was in the bushes.

"Who's there?" Gokudera yelled, and the ninja went further behind the tree.

Looking at each other, Gokudera and Yamamoto decide to go further in. As their flame lanterns lit up the darkness, they could see a ninja hiding behind the tree. Slowly, the ninja made his way out, showing them that he had taken someone hostage. When Gokudera and Yamamoto looked closely, it wasn't Tsuna who was taken hostage; It was Sakaishi.

"Isn't that Tsuna's brother?" Yamamoto said, slightly confused.

"Brother? Oh, you mean his caretaker." Gokudera said nonchalantly, remembering the times he met Sakaishi. "What are you doing with him?" Gokudera demanded from the ninja.

The ninja refused to answer. Determined to save this caretaker even though they had not known him, Yamamoto took out his sword and Gokudera got into a fighting stance. The ninja smiled, glad to have this plan work, even though his target was Tsuna. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Tsuna looked around the house for a rope so he could tie that ninja up. Fortunately, there was a wire, but it was too thin to tie up a rather thin, old ninja.

Tsuna took the wire, and measured the length. '_Well, it looks like this thing is really going to be very useful…_' He looked at the door immediately upon hearing a noise. '_For fighting that is…_' He held the wire tight, preparing to go out and find that assassin who made the noise.

"Let him go. Now." Yamamoto ordered the ninja, which of course would not work.

"Unless you pay me more than my boss, then I will." The ninja demanded, holding Sakaishi tighter and holding a knife to his neck closer.

"You cowardly ninja! We won't pay you to do any cowardly work!" Gokudera snapped as nobles are too proud to hire assassins to do their dirty work.

'_In this situation, normally one is in a tight spot. They want the hostage unharmed. However, the criminal would threaten the rescuers with the hostage's life to let him escape. Based on luck, they would safely be rescued with a plan._' Yamamoto considered what would happen. They need to rescue Sakaishi or else the ninja would get what he wants.

"Hey…can you actually run with the burden?" Gokudera suddenly asked, surprising Yamamoto.

'_Don't tell me he's…_' Yamamoto thought.

"Of course not!" The ninja accidentally lowered his guard and held tighter onto his hostage.

"Then I'll do this." Gokudera took out a gun and shot immediately. "Yamamoto, GO!"

Yamamoto rushed forward as the ninja dropped Sakaishi on the ground, trying to start running away. The ninja flinched, holding tightly onto his gunshot wound. The unconscious Sakaishi landed on the ground with a thud.

"You're not running!" Yamamoto said fiercely as he slashed the back of the ninja's leg and kicked him in the back.

The ninja tripped, and the tree that he had just passed fell on him, as Yamamoto's blade cut the tree in half. Yamamoto then kept his sword in the sheath and Gokudera was checking if Sakaishi is injured. Yamamoto then walked over.

"He's fine, just the gunshot wound. How did you hit it so perfect like that?" Yamamoto inquired, intrigued to know that Gokudera could shoot a Bull's Eye.

"Hmph, a closed ranged combat person like you wouldn't know. I hit the Bull's eye every time." Gokudera bragged, arrogantly brushing his fringe as if he had accomplished something amazing. He looked at Sakaishi and said, "Anyway, let's carry him back."

"Then the ninja?" Yamamoto said, worried about the ninja.

"Leave him to die." Gokudera bluntly ordered.

"You're not serious, not sending him to the police or something?" Yamamoto said, confused.

"Do you seriously believe in Cadre De Arden, there'd be a police stationed here? Plus he better be glad we didn't kill him." Gokudera said in a cruel tone, carrying Sakaishi on his back.

Yamamoto kept quiet for a while, staring at Gokudera. '_Is he serious?_' He thought.

* * *

"It's like waiting for a little bird to fly out of its nest. And the bird is happy. But you're not going to be happy." The assassin said, as a bird flew to him and stood on his palm.

"Why?"

"I will not allow you to flap your wings in this corrupt world. I'm here to kill you." He said, as the bird flew off. He noticed that Tsuna is holding onto a wire. "I bet you can't do anything with that."

"I'd like to see you try." Tsuna said, showing the assassin that he had tied the wire onto a piece of branch.

"Hmm? That kind of weapon ain't helping you one bit, it's useless." The assassin said, shrugging at him.

'_He can't be serious._' He thought, stepping back as Tsuna got into a fighting stance.

"We'll see about that." Tsuna said, showing the assassin how tight the hand-made weapon is.

'_Impossible, he can't do that…_' The assassin frowned, feeling something is not right. '_It's not even a weapon!_' He's right; it's too thin to hit anything. Whilst busy about how the weapon is going to work, the assassin lowered his guard. Immediately, Tsuna rushed towards him, making the assassin too stunned to react. '_He's fast!_' The assassin thought, as his eyes widened. Tsuna tripped him with his foot, and the assassin dropped his dagger. '_It worked!_' Tsuna soon kicked the assassin's dagger aside. '_He actually used the weapon as a ruse to lower my guard? Damn! I lost to a ten year old!_' The assassin thought, closing his eyes. A few moments had passed, and there was no sound, except for the cicadas' noises.

"Tell me. Why are you targeting me?" Tsuna demanded from him in a cold tone, breaking the apparent silence.

The assassin opened his eyes, with Tsuna pointing the branch at him. Using this chance, he grabbed his branch and threw Tsuna over. The assassin then made a run for his dagger, but stopped abruptly. He was struggling and his body isn't moving…The assassin felt as if he was pulled back by someone…

"Did you really think I'm an idiot?" Tsuna said in an angry tone, using the string to control the assassin as if he was some puppet.

'_Impossible! How did he put the strings when I was on the ground?_' The assassin thought, waving his arms around, trying to get a string off him.

"Tell me now before I strangle you!" Tsuna yelled, and the assassin struggled when Tsuna tightened the strings.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! We're hunting brunettes to find the hidden prince! That's all I know! My boss said so!" The assassin yelled, being frightened.

Tsuna knocked him out. '_Hidden prince? Just who is he?_' Tsuna thought as he frowned, remembering that Gokudera had mentioned this 'hidden prince'.

"Tsuna! Are you home?" Rinko's voice could be heard in the distance.

As Rinko came, she could see Tsuna clearly, standing there. At the same time, Yamamoto and Gokudera came, carrying Sakaishi as they walked. Seeing the house in the distance, they hypothesized that it was Tsuna's house. Seeing Tsuna, they started to call out for him. Rinko had immediately hugged Tsuna, having been worried sick.

"Jeez! Next time when you go out, you must tell us!" Rinko said, crying.

'_Maybe it's about time I set out on a journey…to find the memories I've lost._' Tsuna thought, smiling. '_And stop making her worry about me every time._'

"Are you okay?" Rinko panicked immediately, seeing the assassin on the ground.

"I'm perfectly fine, Rinko-nee-chan." Tsuna assured her.

"Let's go in." Rinko said, as she stopped hugging him.

"Okay."

End of Chapter 3

**Hurray for too much action-packed chapter...lamely typed by the one and only Hajimeru Rinko. If you noticed, I seemed to have made Tsuna behave like Conan for some time because of "kicking" branches, o.o. Anyway, I'm trying my best to do a favourable format for people to read since it's been some time I was on .**

**LilyMoonstone - I know I had replied to you in a PM, but others would also love to hear the answer. There's no more training tower, sadly, it was an idea that popped up from the top of my head whilst writing the first version. There will be training towers in the future, just that Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera no longer attend such schools.**

**Preview for Chapter 4:**

"We're talking about lollipops and NOT chocolate!" Gokudera emphasized, lunging at Yamamoto.

"But they're still the same, aren't they? They're sweets." Yamamoto pointed, making Gokudera angrier.

"They are different! Chocolate is made from coca and lollipops are hardened sucrose with corn syrup!" Gokudera bellowed at Yamamoto for his sillyness.

**Hurray. There's a chance some parts of chapter 4 will change in the story, but heck cares...:D Please read and review! I get upset every time I stare at my e-mail inbox, empty D:  
**

**~Hajimeru Rinko**


	4. The Decision And Comparison

**Written by: Hajimeru Rinko  
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure  
Rating: T  
Summary: Found by a young girl, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea of his origins. When he gets targeted, he sets out to search for his memories and prevent his friends from getting hurt. Will he be able to find them? AU & OCs! No Pairings too, lol.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and all rights goes to their respective owners!**

* * *

A Fantasy Tale I Chapter 4

\ *Chapter 4: The Decision and Comparison* /

At the house, Gokudera and Yamamoto were sitting at the table, as Rinko was writing a letter to the school. Sakaishi and Tsuna were standing by each other, as the silent scenario unfolded itself as time passes. The unconscious assassin and ninja were tied up together.

"So…what are you doing writing a letter to school?" Gokudera asked, breaking the silence.

"Tsuna can't go to school now if he's targeted." Rinko pointed as she focused on the letter.

'_Honestly, I've started to not bother with this overprotective sister and young boy._' Sakaishi thought, scratching his head, thinking of what to say.

"Why so serious? You should relax once in a while." Yamamoto tried to soften the situation.

"How can I relax when my brother's targeted?" Rinko snapped at Yamamoto, who stepped back at the sudden burst of emotion.

'_It feels like she's just clinging onto him to keep going…_' Yamamoto looked sad, because she seemed desperate. '_This woman needs to grow up. Tsuna doesn't need her every day._' Gokudera thought, his first impression of Rinko was ruined. By now, Tsuna had noticed the pain in his sister's voice. All the pressure and depression were coming out of her. For the first time, he had seen the painful face of Rinko, and started to feel bad. '_Am I this much of a burden to her?_' Tsuna frowned.

"Rinko-nee-chan."

"Yes?"

"Am I that much of a burden to you?" Tsuna asked in a sad tone.

"…"

"Rinko…you better spill out your feelings before you go berserk." Sakaishi added, seeing that she's confused at Tsuna's question.

"No…you're not." Rinko said, turning away from Tsuna.

"You're lying." Tsuna insisted, seeing that Rinko is running away. "You're perfectly not okay at all…Rinko-nee-chan, please be honest…" He pleaded.

Rinko felt like she was going to burst into tears. Yamamoto immediately prepared some tissues, while Gokudera ignored her and started reading a book. '_I can feel it…the insecurities of her is flowing out very fast…_' Tsuna had noticed the sudden increased empathy he suddenly had.

"I…don't know what to say." Rinko said, clenching her head as she fell to her knees.

Gokudera was getting irritated by the moment. '_What a weak-willed peasant. Hmph._' He was unimpressed.

"Rinko…if you're suffering, at the least you should tell them." Sakaishi walked over to try and comfort her.

"It's…so hard…working and trying to take care of Tsuna at the same time…" Rinko stammered as tears flowed down her face.

Tsuna walked over and could not describe his sister's face. He had never seen that side of her before.

"Rinko…nee…chan…" He's starting to regret this, but he can't turn back now.

Not when his sister could be at risk.

"I want to go on an adventure." Tsuna announced to her.

"Oi…Tsuna…your sister is crying and you don't care?" Yamamoto said as he handed Sakaishi a tissue to pass to Rinko.

"She's crying…because I'm a burden…I don't want her to always suffer because I was here…" Tsuna slowly said as he did not know how to tell her.

Rinko used the tissue to wipe off her tears, and stood up, facing Tsuna. She was trying to stop the tears from flowing, and tried to hear him properly. Tsuna hoped that she's not misunderstanding him.

"I'm sorry." The words came from her mouth, surprising Tsuna.

"Rinko-nee-chan…to be honest, I want to go on an adventure so that I won't always make you worry all the time…and…retrieve my lost memories." Tsuna admitted, feeling awkward.

'_Lost memories!_' Everyone in the room was shocked. Immediately, Rinko grabbed Tsuna's arms tightly, being very anxious.

"Do you remember anything that tells you who you are!" Rinko impatiently questioned him, panicking.

"…Sadly…no." Tsuna looked down in shame as Rinko released her hold on him.

Rinko and Sakaishi had disappointed faces, while Yamamoto and Gokudera were surprised. '_Why are they so anxious upon hearing that he wants to retrieve his memories?_' They thought, being really confused. '_Can he be…?_' They soon shrugged off the idea.

"Then…can I go on a journey?" Tsuna asked her.

"Other than looking for memories, tell me why you want to go on a journey?" Rinko demanded.

"I realise that I'm bringing my friends a lot of trouble because I'm targeted." Tsuna admitted. "But if you keep on thinking me as a burden, I'll feel more like a burden to you…" Tsuna's voice trailed off, feeling shameful.

By now, Rinko had wiped off her tears and now smiling at him.

"Sure, but on **one** condition." Rinko said determinedly. "Before that…you tell me…How in the world did you knock out that assassin?" Rinko demanded, as she pointed at the assassin with apparently had a weird hat.

"I dropped a stone on him." Tsuna lied, being nervous.

'_How would she believe that I knocked him out anyway…_?' He thought, turning away from her.

"Nonsense, he had no blood on him at all. There are no signs of injury on him, well, except for that _wire_." Rinko emphasized on the last word. She's definitely no idiot either.

'_I'm so screwed, am I?_' Tsuna thought, as he felt like giving up.

"Umm…Rinko-san…there was some fighting classes in school…maybe he plotted to fool that assassin…right?" Yamamoto mentioned, as if Rinko had never heard of Tsuna going into fighting classes.

Immediately, Rinko turned to Tsuna, glaring at him.

"You better own up or else I'll not give you the condition to go travelling. Now." Rinko was getting impatient by the moment.

"Umm…Well I didn't kill him…" Tsuna pointed. "I only used that wire with a tree branch to scare him and lower his guard…"

'_Jeez…what a child. First he makes me worry, and now he makes me mad. If only I was close to him like Sakaishi…_' Rinko was annoyed that Tsuna had not told her anything and hid this much of a secret to her.

"Well...go easy on him. He's targeted anyway." Sakaishi tried to comfort Rinko as much as possible.

"You knew? Why didn't you…" Rinko walked towards Sakaishi.

'_Oh shit._' Both Tsuna and Sakaishi thought, sweat dropping

"learn from him!" Tsuna and Sakaishi were shocked and almost did an animated fall down.

'_That was the __**last**__ thing we expected from her!_' Tsuna and Sakaishi were dumbfounded, knowing how Rinko is really overprotective. Rinko suddenly walked over to Tsuna and hugged him.

"I'm sorry to leave you in the care _of_ Sakaishi, who's so useless. I should have known better of you!" Rinko had gone back into over protective mode, and emphasizing the word 'of' made it a direct insult to Sakaishi.

'_How dare her…that…immature brat!_' Sakaishi was getting pissed. '_I can tell that he's really pissed…_' Tsuna had nothing to say, seeing Sakaishi's infuriated face. '_Well…Rinko is just an alien we all will never know…_' Tsuna concluded, freaking out at the sudden ever changing Rinko. '_I'm surprised someone like her exists…_' Yamamoto had never seen a fangirl do that to him…well maybe because he had no siblings. '_I swear I'm going to puke, this totally reminds me of that sickening sister._' Gokudera was already starting to puke.

Rinko stopped hugging Tsuna, slowly standing up and facing him.

"Well, the condition is…you are better off travelling with friends then alone." Rinko pointed, because Tsuna is targeted.

"And that means…"

"If you don't get a companion to travel with you, I won't let you go. Sakaishi isn't going to travel because he has to take care of his sick father." Rinko reasoned with Tsuna.

"Finally…he's growing up to be a 'man'…" Sakaishi commented, feeling proud of Tsuna.

"I have no need for your comments." Rinko bluntly cut in, ignoring Sakaishi.

"EXCUSE ME?"

'_Honestly, I know why she's suddenly changing her moods._' Tsuna remembered how she was anxious before, then crying, then anger, then crying again, and finally calm. '_It's that freaking time of the month._' Sakaishi and Tsuna thought in unison.

"We'll go with Tsuna." Rinko and Sakaishi turned to Yamamoto, who was standing with Gokudera.

"If…it's fine with you." Gokudera added, turning away from them.

Rinko smiled, thinking, '_I think I should give up keeping him to me. It's time he learns to make friends._'

"Then go. It is, after all, a once in a lifetime opportunity." Rinko said, finally assured that Tsuna could protect himself.

And, she's finally freed of the accursed over protective spell. That didn't mean she's freed of _that_ time of the month.

* * *

In a small shed at the back of Cadre De Arden, stands Tsuna with Gokudera and Yamamoto. They were packing up, preparing to set off for a journey. Earlier, they came to school as usual, but had told everyone it'd be their last day there. All the girls spammed Gokudera and Yamamoto farewell gifts, some which might be of use to their journey ahead.

"Jeez…what can this….pink lollipop be of use to us?" Gokudera irritated commented as he hung up the lollipop in front of him.

"Well, at least it can be bait for fishing." Yamamoto mentioned as he carried his baseball bat.

"You fished before, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked Yamamoto in a curious tone.

"Yep. My grandfather was a fisherman and on Valentine's Day, he fished a fish out using chocolate; the chocolate my grandmother made for him." Yamamoto recalled, smiling at Tsuna.

"We're talking about lollipops and NOT chocolate!" Gokudera emphasized, lunging at Yamamoto.

"But they're still the same, aren't they? They're sweets." Yamamoto pointed, making Gokudera angrier.

"They are different! Chocolate is made from coca and lollipops are hardened sucrose with corn syrup!" Gokudera bellowed at Yamamoto for his sillyness.

"Would you two please stop? We need to set off now or else we won't make it to the next town in two days." Tsuna tried to stop them, convincing them to start off now.

"By the way, we're not travelling in a carriage, are we?" Gokudera asked Tsuna, seeing that they will be walking on foot.

"A carriage is not likely to be useful if the wheels break down." Tsuna pointed, seeing that assassins would more likely sabotage the carriage.

Suddenly, Yamamoto's butler, Douji, had arrived with a horse. The horse trotted towards Yamamoto, which Yamamoto petted. He then put his baggage on the horse, and did the same for Gokudera.

"Is that a horse we're going to bring with us?" Tsuna asked, having not heard that Yamamoto is bringing along a horse.

"Yeah. I figured our backs will ache if we carry the baggage on our own." Yamamoto mentioned, reaching out his hand to get Tsuna's bag pack.

"Yamamoto-sama, please take care." Douji said again.

"Of course I will. This will be a fun adventure!" Yamamoto exclaimed, with Gokudera frowning at him.

"Gokudera-kun, won't your parents be worried for you? Yamamoto did get permission from his dad." Tsuna worriedly asked Gokudera.

"Don't worry! I will tell them I did this of my own free will!" Gokudera assured Tsuna, who seemed unsure.

'_Right…_' Tsuna looked down slightly as the three set off to travel.

"Besides, I've run away from home before." Gokudera added, smiling.

"WHAT?" Tsuna shrieked, since he had never heard of the noble running away from home.

'_He's a real delinquent!_' Tsuna gaped in shock.

"Oi Tsuna, hurry up, before I leave you two behind." Yamamoto yelled, as he was already ahead of them, with the horse.

"Ah, Yamamoto!" Tsuna shouted, as he and Gokudera ran to catch up to Yamamoto.

They walked into the Alicata forest, heading towards the south. The forest was as small as the Autinara forest, the one Tsuna's home was in. Cadre de Arden was always surrounded by forests, and the poorest peasants would build their homes in the forests, seeing that they will not have problems with animals. In the first place, few animals habit the forests, because of human deforesting the forests to a very small radius, driving animals away sadly.

But…it seems that Tsuna has a _bloody_ problem with some carnivorous animals.

"What's that?" Tsuna asked, pointing at something running in the distance.

"Oh, it's…a wild boar right?" Yamamoto answered him, squinting to see a small animal charging towards them.

"Umm…let's not get in its way-"

Too late. The wild boar had pushed Tsuna down.

"Uwahh!" Tsuna shouted, as Gokudera took out his handgun and shot at the animal.

The wild boar then slumped to the side, dead. Tsuna was slightly frightened. How could he just kill an innocent animal?

"Looks like we won't be worrying about food for now" Gokudera said in a monotone, walking over and picking up the dead carcass.

'…_Is he a cruel person or what?_' Tsuna and Yamamoto thought in unison as Gokudera walked back to them, carrying the dead carcass.

"Let's pick up some firewood so we can set up fire later on." Gokudera mentioned, seeing that they would have to camp out every night.

"That's a good idea." Yamamoto agreed, snapping out of his shocked stance, and the three picked up branches, pieces of wood along their route out.

* * *

The whole day was spent walking through the Alicata forest and seeing the endless hills of grass in the evening. If it is spring, the grass would be green, but they are a pale orange. It fits really perfectly with the evening sun setting down. The three stopped moving and admired the sunset.

"Say, is it a good idea if we camp in the hills?" Yamamoto questioned, seeing that it'd be late.

"Of course not! We'll be open from attack anywhere!" Gokudera yelled at Yamamoto. "And, we'll have to keep guard at times of the night too." He added as Tsuna looked around.

"Let's go as far as possible until night falls. Then we'll camp." Tsuna decided, kneeling down to touch the ground.

"In the open?" Gokudera questioned his decision.

"They have nowhere to hide in the open either…except for the hills. It'd be a hindrance for them to try disguising themselves in an open space where we might see everything clearly." Tsuna explained, standing up.

'…_I thought he would be __**too**__ traumatised to even strategise._' Gokudera was surprised as Tsuna continued on, followed by Yamamoto. Gokudera immediately caught up to them, seeing that they would have to cover as much distance as much as possible. After covering as much distance as possible, the group started to set up the tent and the campfire. The night fell, and the stars started illuminating the dark blue sky. They cooked the wild boar's carcass and ate its meat for dinner. Gokudera hammered a pike where it was tied by a rope to Yamamoto's horse. He then retreated to the campfire as Tsuna and Yamamoto went to take a look around.

"Hey Tsuna. Why don't you go back and rest first?" Yamamoto shouted to Tsuna, who was staring at something in the distance.

For a moment, Yamamoto had seen Tsuna's face in a different expression. It's hard to describe, but it's different. In a blink of an eye, Tsuna had already changed his expression back to normal, seeing Yamamoto, and started to shout back at him.

"Is it fine?" Tsuna shouted back, worried that the two will be deprived of sleep.

"Sure it's fine! We know some combat skills to a certain degree; you shouldn't worry about us anyway." Yamamoto reasoned with him, and Tsuna was assured enough.

Tsuna started to head back to the tent while Yamamoto scanned the surroundings, wondering what Tsuna was staring at. Seeing nothing, he started to follow Tsuna back to the tent, where Gokudera was staring at the fire as it flicked.

"Umm, Gokudera-kun, are you okay?" Tsuna asked, snapping Gokudera out of his daydreaming.

"No, I'm fine." Gokudera replied, wishing no one to interrupt him now on his reminiscing of an old friend in the past.

"Well…I'm going to sleep." Tsuna told him, yawning, and heading into the tent to sleep. "If you're really not okay, you should tell us. Keeping everything in just like Rinko-nee-chan did will make you crack." Tsuna reminded Gokudera, who frowned.

'_I know how to take care of myself. Does he not trust me?_' He thought, looking down as Tsuna had went to sleep. Yamamoto walked over to Gokudera and sat beside him, also staring at the fire.

"What are you doing here?" Gokudera demanded, surprised and annoyed by Yamamoto's presence.

"Keeping watch." Yamamoto nonchalantly said with a stoic face.

"This wouldn't be good if Tsuna will have to keep watch the next night. You go sleep, I'll keep watch." Gokudera insisted that Yamamoto go to sleep.

"Make sense…"

"Now go to sleep." Gokudera persisted, wanting this annoyance out of his sight.

"But even if I do, I'll still be awake anyway. It's the first time I've slept outside of a comfortable bed at home." Yamamoto admitted, lying on the ground, facing the sky above.

Gokudera seemed to agree, seeing that it's the first time he's in the open because the times he ran away he was always in a hideout somewhere in town. Even if he did run into the forest, he didn't stay long anyway due to his _annoying _sister sniffing him out with Poison Cooking to some effect.

"Hey Gokudera. Do you notice anything about Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked Gokudera, who snapped out of his memories with his sister.

"Tsunayoshi-kun? Nothing much." Gokudera had no comment.

"Why did you treat him like a king in the first place?" Yamamoto inquired, seeing that Gokudera had dropped the 'king' stance on Tsuna.

"Because he reminds me of a friend I used to have…" Gokudera admitted, staring at the fire reminded him of the friend.

"Oh…I'm finding Tsuna really different." Yamamoto pointed, as on that night he had never seen Tsuna stand up for himself before.

"Like how? Care to explain, you baseball freak?" Gokudera was going to think Yamamoto is wrong.

"It feels…I'm comparing the difference between the day and the night here if it comes to Tsuna…" Yamamoto confided in Gokudera, who widened his eyes.

End of Chapter 4

* * *

**Hurray for epic long chapter! x-x I got carried away and in the end, ending up typing a chunk of 3,000 words with lots of dialogue. Amazingly, all my first three chapters are exactly 10,000 words. LOL And sheesh, I keep leaving out the disclaimer, wtf...  
**

**LilyMoonstone: I love you for reviewing, you have brightened up my day! Well, the explanation for a Night time Tsuna will be explained later, which I shall have to take note to mention in the next few chapters. His memory loss is also associated with the reason why he's Night Time instead of Day Time, xD**

**Preview for Chapter 5: ****The Chaser, And Lack of Sleep**

"Let's…set off quick before we tire to death…" Gokudera pointed, as Yamamoto started to go despite being delirious of sleep.

"Yamamoto, would it be okay if you slept on the horse?" Tsuna suggested to him, which Yamamoto refused. Tsuna turned to Gokudera, asking the same question.

"I won't find it comfortable to be sleeping on my stomach; I have my pride as a noble too!" Gokudera refused, as he is too proud to accede to Tsuna's request.

**Consequences of staying up late = delirious of sleep = slow pace = few distance covered. They seriously need some time management skills.**


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